Blowing in the wind

After I finished making the paper I decided to put it onto the washing line to dry. This is something I have not tried before.

Success I decided, the sheets were drying fast. However I left them for half and hour and when I returned, the breeze had grown stronger. I then had to retrieve half of them from around the garden.

Luckily they were fine and are now back inside drying the normal way.

Adding the dried rose petals to the pulp.

Checking for any holes before couching (my new word).

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Adding wildflowers to the pulp mixture

I collected lots of buttercups from meadows around where I live. The buttercups are blooming at this time of year. The best time to collect them is in the afternoon when they do not have any moisture on them. Also when it is a sunny day and has not been raining. Buttercups added to the paper The buttercups had been pressed between two baking sheets to allow the moisture to all be removed naturally. Then I placed some heavy books onto them, wildflower books of course. The process of pressing and drying them took around three weeks. I found this to be the best way of preserving the colour. After I finished the process and dried the paper, I found that the buttercups were not secure on the paper. So next I added PVA glue (mod podge) to each flower and allowed that to dry. The glue sets the flower and preserves the colour. I think the effect is very pretty and more practical than the flowers falling off the finished paper. I ...

Adding flowers

I collected lots of wild flowers, including Buttercups. These are so pretty at this time of year. 💓 Once I have strained the water away from the deckle as much as possible. I add the flowers that have been dried. I dry them by spreading them out onto thin paper and add a heavy book. The process takes around 2 weeks. I find these much more effective in the paper pulp. When adding the flowers, I gently press them into the pulp so that they will not fall out once the paper has dried. 😄 I then allow the new paper with flowers to dry in the usual method. This takes around a further 24 hours.

Drying flowers

I tried different methods of drying petals. I had some flowers sent to me for my birthday. I couldn't bear to see them just go into the brown garden bin. I tied them upside down on coat hangers. I have them hanging in the window. This is to make the water content in each flower evaporate. I have had them up for about two weeks now. I also tried microwaving some petals from my garden. I personally wouldn't recommend this method. It is very quick, however after a week, the odour from they was pretty rank. They all bunched together and did not look very inviting. I dried the next batch of petals using the traditional method of placing them between paper and under a heavy book. This took about two weeks. I was really pleased with the results. As you can see the comparison, the natural dried petals were so pretty and smelt wonderful. I have used them in my green paper mixture. See the difference side by side...

Lemon Tree Paper Creator

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